I did a lot of research and tried to find out how other people packed for a year with such little luggage. I read many blog posts about how and what to pack. Here are some tips that I found helpful.
1. You're not going to be able to take everything.
Choose your favorites and things your wear often now. Don't bring that sweater or pair of pants you might get to wear. Its a waste of space and sometimes money. The same goes for jewelry or anything else you might want to bring.
2. If you like accessories, bring them.
One blogger wrote that you should bring accessories if you enjoy wearing them at a home. I brought a lot of necklaces and jewelry, because I love them and I wear them all. Bottom line, if you know you'll wear it, bring it if you can.
3. Shoes
I could have brought so many more shoes, but I chose the ones that are good for walking and ones I just love wearing. Same with clothes and jewelry, if you know you'll use them bring them.
4. Bring things that will make your space feel like your own.
I personally love having lots of pictures of my friends and family around my room and not having plain white walls. One way to get away with this is to make a calendar with pictures of your friends and family! I did this when I lived in Korea and loved it so I did it again. It is a great way to have lots of pictures and each month, you can look at new ones! :) I personally made my own scrapbook version, but purchasing and creating one online would work too! I just like to scrapbook, so it was fun!
5. Less is more.
It's ok to have only one pair of tennis shoes and one pair of pajama bottoms. Bring a variety, but limit your variety. For instance, I brought a few different purses, but all for different uses. One is my everyday, one is a small backpack and then I have a clutch to wear if I go someplace fancy. SO I have a variety, but I didn't bring everything.
Here is a list of everything I brought. Again, I followed the advice of another female blogger in creating this list. Yours could look much different, but this is mine.
Shoes:
- Winter Boots- Black, Uggs
- Rain boots
- Flats- black
- Tennis shoes
- 2 sandals- gladiator, other
- 1 pair Heels- silver
- Chacos
Shirts
- 12 short sleeve/sleeveless blouses
- 4 longsleve blouses
- 2 casual sleeveless shirts
- 5 casual shirts
- 4 longsleve casual shirts
- 4 undershirts (white, black, other)
- 4 tshirts
- 1 zip up
- 4 Cardigans- 2 black, white, fuschia
- 2 Pull over
- 1 shorts
- 4 jeans
- 3 pants
- Dress pants
- 4 capris
- 3 dresses- 2 dressy, 1 casual
- 3 skirts- 3 maxi skirts, 1 dressy skirt
- 1 pair pants
- 2 shorts
- 2 shirts
Undergarmets
- 20 undies
- 15 Socks- tall socks and ankle socks
- 3 Bras- 2 white, 1 black
- Sports bra
- Black Blazer
- 4 Belts- black, white, color
- 1 Bathing suit- I only own 1, but bring more if you like to wear different tops and bottoms or something.
- Rain coat
- Umbrella
- Purses -backpack, cross body, small fancy black bag for going out
- Sleeping mask- you might need this a lot for traveling and catching some sleep when you get a chance
- Scarves- awesome accessories and can be easy to stuff in places!
- Winter coat
- Mittens/gloves
- Hammock
- Toiletries
- Jewelry
- Language books/books
- Meds- Advil Cold & sinus, Melatonin, pseudoephedrine, ibuprofen (My host mom mentioned that ibuprofen is pretty expensive here in Germany, so I brought a huge bottle. Plus its nice to have medicines you're comfortable with.
- Games- I love to play games, so I brought one to share with friends while I am here.
Electronics:
- Computer and Cord
- Camera and charger
- iPod and charger
- External Battery
- External Hard Drive
Here are a few pictures I took in the midst of packing. I packed in one large suitcase, a medium suitcase, a carryon suitcase and a backpack. I choose to pack my purse and use my backpack as my personal item since I could fit more in my backpack. SO for the day of travel, I put my wallet, passport and tickets in my backpack.
You might be confused at what you see compared to the list I created. I was fortunate enough that the family I came to work for was also coming from the US and were able to bring some of my things in a shipping container. I didn't have to bring a big winter coat, and sweaters and boots with me. So those things I didn't pack to take on the plane. So those things gave me a lot more room to bring other things.
So far I have been here for 10 days and I am happy with what I choose to bring. There has been a few days where I have felt like I wished I had more, but I didn't have a choice, so I have to wash my clothes more I guess. Soon enough I will be shopping here and adding to my wardrobe which will be fun.
I hope you've found this helpful!
Check out my next blog, coming soon about applying for a Visa in Germany.
***October 2015 Update
Since writing this post, I have actually needed more clothes than I originally planned. Thankfully, my mom was able to send me a small box of some things that I already had in the states. It was cheaper for her to send the box than for me to replace the items here in Germany.
I had her send me another t-shirt, two casual shirts, a dress shirt, and 3 pairs of jeans- two blue jeans and one colored pair.
I found that I wasn't really wearing the nicer clothes that I brought with me, and I needed more casual stuff. After all, I am with kids most of the time and I don't need to be dressed nicely. I personally wear jeans almost everyday of the week, so having more has been helpful. I also needed a few more casual shirts.